Bills' Sean McDermott explains why the 'Tush Push' scares him, addresses controversial calls in loss to Chiefs

Sean McDermott was the victim of multiple controversial measurements during the Buffalo Bills' season-ending loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in this past year's AFC divisional round. But despite what transpired in that game, McDermott isn't completely in favor of the NFL adopting state-of-the-art technology to help determine whether or not a team gains a first down.

The Buffalo Bills head coach discussed that and other topics with CBS Sports HQ from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. McDermott, who has guided the Bills to five straight AFC East division titles, also touched on the "Tush Push" and whether or not he feels that the play should be banned. The Packers recently submitted a proposal to ban the play, much to the chagrin of Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, whose team has perfected said play. 

"My strong feeling is let's make sure that what we are doing keeps our players healthy and safe," said McDermott, who is part of the NFL's Competitions Committee. "I don't know if the right word is ... the physics of it scare me in terms of some of this and the positioning of heads or spines or whatever, that scares me. 

"I'm no medical expert, but that is my number one concern. I've been asked, 'Hey, well you kind of do the same thing.' I don't see ours as a full-fledged 'Tush Push.' I think that's also a chapter of the conversation that needs to get some weight and some time in terms of what's defined as a 'Tush Push.' So I think we need to end up in the right spot as soon as possible, wherever that takes us." 

Eagles' Nick Sirianni insulted by critics of 'Tush Push' and those who call the play automatic

Jeff Kerr

The "Tush Push" has been a polarizing play over the past few years. As McDermott alluded to, the play has some injury risks associated with it since it involves numerous players shoving each other that often leads to a scrum. The play has also become nearly automatic for the Eagles, which also leads to entertainment questions. The NFL is an entertainment business, after all, and the league needs to make sure that games are as compelling as possible. 

McDermott was also asked about possible changes regarding how the league handles measurements. After what happened during his team's loss to the Chiefs, one would think that McDermott would be all for the NFL using technology when it comes to deciphering first downs. That's not entirely the case, though, although McDermott does want the league to get those types of things right at a much higher rate. 

"I'm a big believer in advancing the game, no doubt," McDermott said. "But there's also a delicate balance of keeping the human spirit of the game of football alive. And I gotta be honest with you, a year ago, when I heard some of the ideas, I was a little bit, like ... is that going too far? 

"So where I'm at now -- and it's not a reactionary thing, it's just more of evolution of our game -- is we need to be able to get that piece right. That being one of the controllables. There's a lot of uncontrollable or uncontrollables out there. Those are, to me, part of the human part of the game, the agony defeat, the thrill of victory, the old Wide World of Sports, right? That's good for our game. I don't want to lose that, but the controllables we need to get right." 

There's no denying that the officials played a role in the Bills' latest playoff loss to the Chiefs. The officials ultimately determined that the Bills came up short on multiple plays early in the fourth quarter. While the Chiefs' defense deserves credit for making those stops, it's safe to assume that Bills' fans would have felt better if their season wasn't left in the hands of individuals who -- like all of us -- as susceptible to human error. 

While he still getting over that loss, McDermott said he is proud of what the Bills accomplished last season. He said he's also thrilled for Josh Allen after Buffalo's quarterback won league MVP, although that didn't help ease the sting of his team's playoff loss. 

"So proud and happy for Josh Allen and his family," McDermott said. "He has put in so much time and had so many people doubting him. I just love it when people prove people wrong. And his leadership this year of our football team. He's always led, but his leadership this year was dominant, if you will, and so consistent day to day. That's a huge reason why we were able to go where we were able to go this year, and I'm extremely proud of him. 

"The challenge going forward is going to be, how does he sustain that level right of leadership and that level of performance on the field. I mean, that was a heck of a season, on and off the field. And the greater impact of that is the spotlight that it shines on Buffalo and our community. And I just love that. I really do."